You know that feeling when you step on a Lego block that was left on the floor… oh the pain! I think this is the way several of us feel when we look at all the house work that we are required to do in a week. Cook, clean, laundry, vacuum, dust… just thinking about it makes my head spin! May I get some help, PLEASE?
How young is too young to have your child start helping out with chores? Well, it depends on how you look at it. I did read books and visited several websites on parenting and the information varies from one author to another.
For my part, I tried to involve them at a very young age. If at 2 years old, they are able to empty a toy chest, they are able to help put the toys back in. With a little encouragement, they are able to achieve such easy task. At that age it’s usually easy, they almost see it as a game. However, as they age, the challenges start.
”Do I have to?” is the question I heard the most often as they were growing up. We all live in this house, therefore we all get to participate in cleaning it! If that wasn’t enough, we had to manage the disagreements… ”No, I did the vacuum last week, it’s your turn”! I need to find a solution in order not to go through this every week.
I thought, I need a checklist… and I found this beauty on the web!
Finally, a tool to work with! To prevent any loss of time due to disagreement, we all sat down together, and assigned tasks. Each box contained the first letter of the person responsible for that chore. The chores that needed to be done by all (beds for example) contained the letter A. BEAUTIFUL!
I was so happy to finally have something that worked. The list was posted on the fridge for every member of the family to see and best of all, they knew what they had to do.
Now, I’m not a clean freak! However, sweeping the floor every day is important to me… especially with 3 cats, it can easily become the Wild Wild West! See what I mean…
So, how young is too young to have your child start helping out with chores? I don’t have the answer. I think it is up to each parent to judge this for themselves and set forth what they think is best for their child. On my end, I started young with mine. It wasn’t always easy! I’m just glad I had a chance to teach them a thing (or two) about responsibilities.
What’s next? ”Mom, if I do my chores… may I get an allowance?” Oh my, this is a complete different story!!
